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Specific Hungers and Poison Avoidance As Adaptive Specializations of Learning1

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Specific Hungers and Poison Avoidance As Adaptive Specializations of Learning1 PSYCHOLOGICAL REVIEW VOL. 78, No. 6 NOVEMBER 1971 SPECIFIC HUNGERS AND POISON AVOIDANCE AS ADAPTIVE SPECIALIZATIONS OF LEARNING1 PAUL ROZIN 2 AND JAMES W. KALAT3 University of Pennsylvania Learning and memory are considered within an adaptive-evolutionary frame- work. This viewpoint is illustrated by an analysis of the role of learning in thiaraine specific hunger. Consideration of the demands the environment makes on the rat and the contingencies it faces in the natural environment, appreciation of the importance of the novelty-familiarity dimension for these animals, and the realization of two new principles of learning, permit a learning explanation of most specific hungers. The two new principles, "belongingness" and "long-delay learning" specifically meet the peculiar demands of learning in the feeding system. In conjunction with the importance of the novelty dimension, they are discussed in an attempt to develop the laws of taste-aversion learning. It is argued that the laws or mechanism of learning are adapted to deal with particular types of problems and can be fully under- stood only in a naturalistic context. The "laws" of learning in the feeding system need not be the same as those in other systems; manifestation of a learning capacity in one area of behavior does not imply that it will be acces- sible in other areas. This notion leads to speculations concerning the evolution and development of learning abilities and cognitive function. Full under- standing of learning and memory involves explanation of their diversity as welLas the extraction of common general principles. The application of the basic principles developed in situations and species where of evolution and adaptation to learning other solutions to the problems at hand and memory offers a hopeful means of arc less adaptive. Furthermore, when conceptualizing and ordering the increas- learning or memory capacities are brought ingly diverse data of these fields. Learning to bear on a particular type of problem or and memory, being the result of natura situation, it stands to reason that these selection, should be expected to be best capacities should be shaped by or adapted to the situation. 1 This manuscript is an expanded version of an We propose to treat learning and invited address by the first author to APA Division memory as any Other biological char- 6 in 1969. The preparation of this article and some ^ • ,.• i • 4. 4. 4 i i ., • j of the research reported in it were supported by actenstic, subject to natural selection and National Science Foundation Grant GB 8013. We therefore adapted to handle specific types would like to thank John Garcia, Henry and Lila of problems. Insofar as an important Gleitman Elisabeth Rozin, Martin SeligmanW. J. environmental problem (e.g., obtaining Smith, and Richard Solomon for their helpful com- f , -. , , ments and criticisms. adequate foods) presents unique demands 2 Requests for reprints should be sent to Paul or contingencies, we would expect to find Rozin, Department of Psychology, University of appropriate modifications of learning and Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104. •!•.• 1 1 i ^ j -^i 'Supported by National Institute of Health memory abilitiesL , closely articulated with training grant. Now at Duke University. one another and with the natural behavior 459 © 1971 by the American Psychological Association, Inc. 460 PAUL ROZIN AND JAMES W. KALAT of the organism. Biologically speaking, significant part of our understanding of there is no reason to assume that there sensory psychology and physiology. Spe- should exist an extensive set of generally cializations in sensory function, as shown applicable laws of learning, independent of in the classic works of Lettvin, Maturana, the situation in which they are manifested. McCulloch, and Pitts (1959) in the visual This is not to say that there might not be system of the frog, Capranica (1966) on some general laws, at a minimum resulting the remarkable tuning of the frog auditory from basic constraints and features of the system to mating calls, and Roeder (1963) operation of the nervous system, and perhaps reflecting general principles of on detection of bat sonar by the moth causality in the physical world. However, auditory system, can be fully understood if we look at learning within an adaptive- only in the context of adaptations to evolutionary framework, we should seek natural problems. The incredible diversity not only to uncover some of the greatest of the visual system (e. g., variations in the common denominators among the be- proportion of rods and cones in the retina haviors we study, but also to explore the as a function of species and ecology) can plasticity of the mechanisms themselves, be ordered and comprehended in a phy- as they are shaped through selection to logenetic adaptive framework, as shown deal with particular types of problems. in the classical work of Walls (1942). We For many years, the leading ethologists would like to suggest that there are similar (e.g., Lorenz, 1965; Tinbergen, 1951) have possibilities in the area of learning and espoused a position consistent with this. memory. They have emphasized the importance of considering learning within a naturalistic In the major portion of this paper, we context; learning is viewed as being shall discuss specific hungers and poisoning genetically programmed to occur at specific in rats. We shall argue that some basic points in an ongoing behavior sequence. features of learning and memory as applied The thesis presented here is in harmony to food selection in the rat are strikingly with the ethologists' position, but em- different from features characterizing the phasizes differences in learning mechanisms rat's learning in more traditional laboratory themselves, as a function of the situations situations, that these differences make in which learning occurs. sense in terms of evolutionary adaptation, In the face of recent evidence, coming and that an understanding of the role of most significantly from the work of Garcia learning and memory in food selection in- and his colleagues (Garcia, Ervin, & volves an elucidation of specifically adapted Koelling, 1966; Garcia & Koelling, 1966), learning mechanisms and an integration challenging two important generalities in of these with genetically determined be- learning, a framework for ordering the havior patterns. suggested diversity of laws of learning is In the remaining portion of the paper, we desirable. We propose such a framework in terms of the notion of adaptive specializa- shall discuss whether the feeding system tions. Consideration of learning from the is a unique case or representative example, adaptive point of view offers two ad- relate our position to somewhat similar vantages: (a) it provides a heuristic, for theoretical positions, including ethology ordering and predicting the types of learn- and the recent papers of Garcia (Garcia & ing one will see in different situations, and Ervin, 1968; Garcia, McGowan, & Green, (b) it provides a type of explanation of be- 1971), Revusky (Revusky, in press; Re- havior, in that one aspect of understanding vusky & Garcia, 1970), Seligman (1970), behavior can be considered to be explica- Lockard (1971), and Shettleworth (1971), tion of its adaptive value. and discuss the implications of our position Adaptive considerations have proved in the areas of comparative psychology of useful in many areas of biology and are a learning and human function. ADAPTIVE SPECIALIZATIONS OF LEARNING 461 SPECIFIC HUNGERS learning had to be involved. This served Basic Phenomenon and Problems with a as the impetus for our investigation of Learning Interpretation specific hungers. The first demonstration of vitamin B The phenomena of specific hungers were hunger was that of Harris et al. (1933), beautifully demonstrated in the classical who found that given a choice of three work of Richter (1943). The question foods, one supplemented with B vitamins, raised by this work was, How is the animal B vitamin deficient rats would quickly (in particular, the rat) able, when deficient come to choose the correct food. For in a particular nutrient, to select those convenience, Rozin, Wells, and Mayer foods containing it? In the case of sodium, (1964) decided to study a more simplified it is quite clear that sodium deficiency re- situation. One vitamin, thiamine, was leases an innate preference for substances selected, since a clear specific hunger for containing sodium (Nachman 1962; Rich- thiamine had been reported (Richter, ter, 1956; Strieker & Wilson, 1970). How- Holt, & Barelare, 1937; Scott & Quint, ever, it is hard to believe that the rat comes 1946). The most pronounced symptoms equipped with prewired recognition systems of thiamine deficiency in the rat are weight for each of the many substances for which loss and anorexia. (More details about this it can show a specific hunger. The al- and other aspects of thiamine hunger are ternative view holds that rats can learn available in a review by Rozin, 1967a). about what foods "make them better" Following injection or ingestion of thiamine, when they are ill and in this manner come deficient rats show clear signs of reversal to select the proper nutrients (Harris, of symptoms within a few hours, at most. Clay, Hargreaves, & Ward, 1933; Scott The basic design consisted of raising wean- & Quint, 1946). Rats would, in their ling rats on a thiamine deficient diet for lifetime, learn preferences for the tastes of 21 days, at which point they showed clear only those foods associated with recovery signs of deficiency. At this point they from the deficiencies they happen to have were offered a choice between this deficient experienced. This notion has the distinct diet and the same diet supplemented with advantage of simplicity in that it accounts thiamine. for all of the specific hungers (except sodi- Thiamine deficient animals strongly pre- um) with one basic mechanism. ferred the thiamine enriched choice, while There was, in fact, some evidence for a control animals who were not deficient, but learning interpretation of specific hungers.
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